Aspen, CO – May 25, 2012 –The City of Aspen’s Historic Preservation Commission will be presenting its annual awards during City Council’s meeting on Tuesday, May 29 at 5 pm. The four awards go to projects and individuals who have made an outstanding commitment to historic preservation in Aspen.

Two projects are being honored for restoration of a historic structure and a new addition. They represent two different eras of Aspen history.

First HPC will honor the restoration of the house at 202 N. Monarch Street which was built in 1886 and is one of the few large Victorian homes remaining in Aspen. This prominent home, located behind the Hotel Jerome, was painted “Bayer blue” for many years, reflecting one of the paint colors selected by artist Herbert Bayer and distributed for free by Walter Paepcke in an effort to beautify the town in the early years of the “Aspen Idea.” In 2005, after being in the same family’s ownership for 88 years, the house was sold and the process of restoring it back to its original appearance began. This Victorian is once again one of the most ornate historic homes in Aspen. Recognition for this project is given to: Stage Fine Homes, Scott Smith Architects, JD Black Construction, Shannon Murphy Landscape Architects, Lacroux Streeb, Lynni Hutton Inc., and KL&A Structural Engineers.

“This project was refreshing to work on because everyone was primarily focused on doing an accurate restoration of the historic building. The dedication and patience of the team is reflected in the quality of the restoration effort and the success of the finished project,” said Sara Adams, City of Aspen Senior Planner.

The second award goes to the project at 630 E. Hyman Avenue which is an example of preservation of an AspenModern resource. 630 E. Hyman was built beginning in 1969, commissioned by Jack and Gesine Crandall, and designed by Tom Benton. Benton, a trained architect, is best known for his activist posters and artwork. After 40 years of ownership, the Crandall family sold the property in 2009. The new owners voluntarily landmark designated the building and worked with the City’s Historic Preservation Commission to add a rooftop addition and make other revisions that allowed the interior courtyard to be used year round. Recipients of this award are: Austin Lawrence Partners, Rowland + Broughton Architecture and Urban Design, John Olson Builder, Binbilla Landscaping, Haas Land Planning and Alpine Bank.

“This building was the first modernist commercial building in Aspen to be voluntarily landmarked. The project revived the building and called renewed attention to the importance of Tom Benton as an artist and architect. As an additional benefit, several long term tenants were able to stay in the building and purchase their own spaces,” said Amy Guthrie, City of Aspen Historic Preservation Officer.

The third Preservation Honor award for high quality architecture is located at 216 E. Hyman Avenue. The “Pink House,” well known as the hospitable home of Darcy and Ruth Brown during the infancy of the Aspen Skiing Company, is a Victorian era landmarked property. Again the project represents a transfer from a long term owner, in this case the Brown family owned the house for 60 years, to a trusted steward. The new owner, who has preserved the pink paint, another Bayer influenced color, built an artist studio amongst the trees behind the home. This award is presented to: Ann Mullins, 1 Friday Design, and Lone Pine Construction.

The Elizabeth Paepcke Award for an individual or group that has been a long-time preservation leader demonstrating commitment to historic preservation will be awarded to Gaard Moses. Moses has been an Aspen resident since 1966 and is recognized for his stewardship of Aspen’s historic murals and signs, and his original artwork, which has identified many beloved businesses such as the JBar, The Red Onion, Little Annie’s, The Weinerstube, The Paragon and more. Gaard has championed these classic gold leafed and hand-painted signs of historic Aspen, preserving these works of art like no one else.

“If it weren’t for Gaard calling attention to Aspen’s remaining Victorian era billboards, most would have faded away as the years passed. His own original signs are just as valuable and unique in Aspen,” Guthrie said.